Trauma of testing the truth

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JANE, not her real name, is a lawyer who attempted suicide after being cross-examined. The case was lost. She felt bewildered and ashamed by her inability to present her testimony competently. She says that she was hopelessly ill-prepared for the psychologically disabling impact of the cross-examination. “It was like being raped all over again,” she says, “except the cross-examination was worse.”

Perpetrators of rape groom, coerce or entrap their victims to gain control over them. Many of the techniques used in cross-examination replicate these features. Witnesses often feel trapped by closed questions, being rushed or silenced by interruptions. They are